


Rhythm & Melody

by radokami



Series: Youniverse [2]
Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Drinking, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:40:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26226544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radokami/pseuds/radokami
Summary: You and Mari spend another evening together, and Mari's all too happy to indulge You's taste for cocktails.
Relationships: Ohara Mari/Watanabe You
Series: Youniverse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1904785
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	Rhythm & Melody

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Asallia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asallia/gifts).



These were the best nights. Crashing onto the luxurious couch, putting on a record, drinking an expensive drink or two until all the opulent set dressing fell away, leaving only Mari’s company. Listening to her talk about, well, anything. Just the sound of her voice had become the most comforting song to You, and Mari probably knew it, with the way she’d go on for her girlfriend.

But the best part of this premise was how many directions it could go on any given night. Keep the drinks light, put on an upbeat tune, and leave the couch’s embrace for Mari’s, and they could dance the night away, just the two of them, echoing the night this all began. Pour a glass of wine, dim the lights, and they could spend the night whispering their love to each other, sharing tender gazes, affirming how far the pair had come.

No matter how You and Mari chose to spend these evenings together, they had a way of making time melt away, turning a few hours into a hazy eternity that always left You buzzing. Whether with joy or drunkenness depended.

Tonight, it was probably going to be the latter. You had tried to keep her spirits up for the occasion, but there was little sense left in putting on a brave face for Mari’s sake. So she had arrived listless, mumbling, wanting to jump out of her skin. She knew she could depend on Mari to soften these moods, though, one way or another.

“Can you, uh, make me something strong, Mari?” she led with, half-shouting over the English pop record Mari had put on. “I wanna get drunk.”

“Of course, darling,” Mari singsonged in reply. Subtly bouncing along to the music, she grabbed one bottle, two, three, four, _five?_ You lost count as Mari started pouring, then stirring with an almost comically long spoon, and at last presenting her with a tall glass of… blue.

With Mari beaming proudly at her creation, You raised the glass to her lips and took a sip - citrus. Sour, and sweet, and boozy, easy to drink. Too easy. Intent on losing herself tonight, she sucked down the glass before she could even process how fast her head was spinning. A good start.

“Can I have another?” You called out, head already lolling to the side. Whatever acknowledgement Mari gave was drowned out by the music, thumping, noisy, but somehow catchy too. You sat as still as she cared to - not much - absorbing the rhythm, tapping her feet a little out of step, humming a little off key, well on the way to not caring. Just what she needed tonight. Thank God for Mari.

Another glass of blue. Two. And Mari, finally taking her spot on the couch next to You, quietly giggling to herself over her handiwork, probably. You took a moment to take in Mari’s face, her impossible beauty, filling her with a warmth not unlike the burn of alcohol in her chest. Maybe those were the same feeling.

It was hard to tell now, as she took an inaugural sip of her second drink, letting out a satisfied sigh without really trying.

“Look at you go!” Mari cheered between casual sips of her own tall glass of blue. “Having fun, dear?”

“Yeah.” You couldn’t manage anything more articulate, so she added a smile, eyes blissfully closed while her head swam. “What’s this drink called again? I like it.”

_“Adiós, Motherfucker.”_

“Huh?” You almost spit out her drink. Her time with Mari had expanded her vocabulary enough to understand the name, and in her inebriated state it made her blood run cold for a moment.

“That’s the name of the drink,” Mari continued, cheerfully, unfazed by You’s reaction. Her own glass was almost half empty. “Because it knocks you _out,_ no?”

You immediately noticed her eyes staying closed a bit longer each time she blinked. She glanced down at her glass and found it approaching empty. How much alcohol had she drunk in just the last few minutes? She should probably get some water.

She had to rise off the couch in stages, first shimmying forward to the edge of her seat and righting herself before at last standing - mostly - and immediately crashing back down to the couch. The room was spinning too quickly for her to navigate, or even stay upright. Maybe - just _maybe_ \- You had gotten too drunk. But this _was_ all she felt now, so mission accomplished.

_New mission: don’t throw up in front of your girlfriend._

“You just stay right here, honey,” Mari cooed from somewhere close to You. “I’ll get you some water.”

You felt her weight shift on the couch as Mari stood, leaving her curled up on her side and trying to make sense of the music that was playing. This song was faster, sweeter to her ears, easier than ever to get lost in while Mari was in the kitchen.

Before she could think too much, Mari returned with two glasses of ice water, setting one down on the coffee table and laying her free hand on You’s shoulder.

“Need a hand sitting up?” Her voice rang even sweeter than the music, somehow.

“Sure, yeah.” You did her best to prop herself up, but let Mari do the rest of the work, pulling her gently into a sitting position and handing her the other glass of water.

“Drink up, _tesoro mio._ ”

“Hmm,” You hummed between tiny sips of water. “You’ve uh, called me that before, right? What does that mean?”

“I have,” Mari purred. “It means ‘my treasure.’”

You’s eyes widened and her cheeks burned. She took a bigger swig of water before letting herself fall back on her side, in the opposite direction this time. Her head landed in Mari’s lap with unlikely precision, and she sighed in contentment.

Mari’s lap was soft, like every part of her, enough that You could easily fall asleep here. That sounded like a better idea with every passing second, as Mari started slowly, gently stroking You’s hair. Maybe she could just rest her eyes for a moment.

* * *

It was mostly quiet when You opened her eyes. She still had Mari pinned to the couch, so when the record ran its course, Mari had no choice but to go without music for a time. It seemed like that hardly bothered her, though, as she continued idly patting You’s head, humming a familiar swing tune to herself. You slowly turned her head to look up at Mari and see her eyes light up.

“Hey there! Have a nice nap?”

“I think so,” You mumbled, smiling the easiest smile in her life back up at Mari. On the other side of two powerful drinks, a nap, and probably most of the evening with her, You couldn’t quite remember what had gotten her so down in the first place. All that was left was the dizzy sensation of coming down from what had to be the drunkest she had ever been, and the warmth that always came with these nights.

As much as she wanted to stay curled up on Mari’s lap forever, You needed water. And probably some new music to relax to. After long moments of winding up to move again, You rose to a sitting position slowly, trying not to make herself any more dizzy than she already was. She attended to her glass of water while Mari rose to stretch.

“Holding up alright, You?” Mari sounded like she was shaking off some sleep from her voice, too. “The night’s still young, but we could call it here if you want.”

“No, I’m fine,” You gasped after gulping down the rest of her water in one go. “I wanna spend more time with you while I’m, you know, awake.”

“Wow, what a coincidence!” Mari replied with a wink. “Me too.”

The warmth came into sharper focus, spreading from You’s cheeks and chest to envelop her. _This_ was what she had been after all night, she realized. And just like always, Mari made it look so easy. How did she do it?

“Want to put on another record then?” Mari called from across the room, examining her record shelf and tapping one foot. “What’s the vibe?”

“Something… relaxing. Something we can just cuddle on the couch to, maybe?” You might have blushed saying that kind of thing months and months ago, but now it came more naturally than anything. The puppy dog eyes still took a little effort.

“I think I can work with that.”

Mari zeroed in on a blue sleeve with a lighter blue square in its center. It looked a little familiar to You, sounded even more so as the record started spinning and the room filled with fuzzy guitar and a sparse, upbeat drum rhythm. They had listened to this before. You had loved it.

While You sat transfixed by the music, Mari took her place on the couch next to her again, this time beckoning her closer. You shuffled towards her and fell into an embrace, warm and soft and comforting and pulse-quickening as always. Any lingering traces of alcohol in her system faded into the background, upstaged by the rhythm, the melody, and the elation of another evening spent with Mari. You sighed contentedly.

These were the best nights.

**Author's Note:**

> Trans You College AU is now officially a series I'm working on! This wasn't the second entry I originally had planned, but the idea popped up during a conversation with Asallia and I just couldn't resist. I kinda made this for both of us, so it's not strictly self-indulgent :p
> 
> Expect more in this series, it's a setting I've become very invested in and I can't wait to show y'all what I have planned for it. Stay tuned!


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